


Sticky Situation

by Phisobi



Series: Prompt Oneshots [4]
Category: Original Work, The Borrowers - All Media Types
Genre: G/T, GT, Gen, Giant/Tiny, Marianne's name isnt mentioned at all but thats the protag's name lol, Prompt Fic, Size Difference, Tumblr Prompt, borrower au, glue traps, sorry for weird spacing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26116087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phisobi/pseuds/Phisobi
Summary: Another GT Prompt Oneshot! #3: “Don’t you dare touch them."-Marianne finally got rid of all of the traps lining the walls. Or, at least, she thought she did. The disappearance of her little sister might prove her wrong, though.But maybe she could make it out alive after all?
Relationships: None
Series: Prompt Oneshots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868347
Comments: 1
Kudos: 37





	Sticky Situation

**Author's Note:**

> im bad at summaries

"Just… a little… further…." I grunted, reaching forward with a stick in my hand as far as my arm could reach. I didn't want to be anywhere near the shiny metal death trap when it went off. 

And it _did_ go off, even more violently than the last five traps that I had triggered this week. I jumped back with a yelp at the loud noise, heart hammering in my chest. A shudder of fear ran through my body at the idea of that metal bar snapping down on one of my limbs. 

Or, god forbid, on Rose.

She was the reason I was out traversing the walls every day, doing everything I can to make it a safe environment. I'd already tied string railings to all of the parts that required balance or climbing, in case she fell, and I took down any spiderwebs that started to accumulate. I reinforced the handholds, and even found a panel of wood I could pry back to allow a little extra light in at the really dark places. 

She was only seven years old, so she deserved the safest place to grow up that a borrower could provide. And that wasn't possible to achieve with active _traps_ laying around everywhere.

I'll admit, I blame myself for the humans above taking initiative and setting them up. I had been careless, leaving behind a few crumbs here and there a couple times whenever I went out on borrowing missions. Thankfully I had overheard their conversation about having fears of mice in the walls, so I was prepared when I came across the first deadly contraption. I triggered it safely, and took the little piece of cheese on the wood as a reward.

Eventually, it became almost like a game to me. How many could I find and dismantle? What kind of treats would I bring home again today? How long until the humans above stopped setting the same damn ones and expecting a different result? 

The answer turned out to be a week. I had to stifle a laugh at their conversation days after finding multiple triggered traps but nothing in them.

"Okay what the hell," Mike, the taller grumpier one, had said in disbelief. "There's no way mice are that smart. This is like what, the _tenth_ trap we've had to reset? At this point we're just _giving_ them the fucking cheese!" 

"I…. don't know." Said a very confused Roger, scratching the back of his neck. "I've never seen this happen before. Maybe it's a sign that we should stop using these mousetraps?" He offered with a small chuckle. 

Mike had grumbled something in response, but I didn't catch it. I was too busy celebrating my success in making them give up on their attempt to capture the 'mice' in the walls. Relief flooded through me at the thoughts of the house finally being safe for Rose to travel around. I had told her that someday soon the walls would be open to her again, and she could go out playing and burn her copious amounts of energy once more.

And her smile was contagious, when I told her that I had bested all of the traps, and that we didn't have to worry about them anymore. Just to be safe, I had done one last perimeter check, glad to see that everything had seemingly been removed. 

The next day, I told Rose that she could go out and play again while I was organizing supplies. I hadn't thought much of it.

But as per our rules she always checks in within a couple hours… so the fact that I haven't seen her yet since this afternoon was starting to really worry me. She was a smart and independent kid, but still just a kid. There was a chance she could have fallen asleep somewhere, or gotten lost, or….

I gulped. Or I didn't get rid of _all_ of the traps.

Without a moment's hesitation I gathered up my borrowing equipment and pushed aside the small tin door of our den, venturing out into the halls once again. I had to find her before anything else did. I couldn't bear the thoughts of anything happening to her.

"Rose?" I called out softly, straining my ears for a reply. But I heard nothing back, which only made my heartbeat quicken.

"Rosie?" I called out again a little louder, after traveling to the other end of the wall where she usually spends her time. "Now's not the time for hide and seek, okay? You're worrying me." 

Silence was my only answer. 

Immediately I began to panic. Where could she have gone?! Did she go _outside_? She knows she's not supposed to do that without me! For a split second I thought about going to check out by the berry bushes, but I hesitated. I really don't think she would have gone out there without me. 

I nervously chewed at my cheek, trying to think of all the places she could be. She was too little to make the climb to the kitchen, and she would have told me if she was going beneath the floor to her little garden in the dirt. I could hear the humans walking above, and my head swiveled to the nearest entrance to their world. The living room. Had Rose gone there? It wouldn't have been a very smart decision to try and watch tv in the daylight, but then again she liked to be stupidly brave, and it had been me who told her she had nothing to worry about. 

I sighed, mentally berating myself for my poor choice of words, and began the trek there. If she _wasn't_ there, then I could go around to every other exit and see if I could find her. If not, I'd go check outside. I had to hurry though, as I knew it was only a couple more hours until the sun set.

As I grew closer to the living room entrance, I could hear a voice grow louder. 

"----ger, get in here. You have to see this." Mike's voice rang throughout the halls. 

Hopefully he was just excited by something on the tv, and would be distracted enough to let me peek my head out and look for my sister. My stomach sank at the image of him possibly holding Rose in a fist, while she struggled to get away. _No_ , I _had_ to make it there before that happened.

Faster than mine, another pair of footsteps entered the room. I made it to the hole in the wall last, noticing that the light seemed to flood through the tunnels more than usual. Normally the curtains were closed, and they didn't pay much attention to this corner of the room. Something was wrong, I could just feel it.

Ever so cautiously I peeked around the edge of the entrance, glancing out into the vast room beyond. But what I saw almost made me scream.

A few feet away sat the taller human, crouched down on one knee and staring at the floor a little bit ahead of him. I would have thought he was staring right at me, if I hadn't followed his unwavering gaze down to a white piece of cardboard in front of him.

And on that white piece of cardboard, curled up into an unmoving ball, was Rose.

Immediately, a surge of protective anger bubbled up inside me.

"That's not a mouse…" Roger stated the obvious as he appeared behind Mike, both of their faces painted with a shocked expression.

It was when I saw Mike hesitantly reach out a hand towards the glue trap that my feet kicked into motion, bringing me out into the wide open. I didn't care about being seen, didn't care about the rules. I only cared about Rose, and making sure she was safe.

“ _Don’t you_ **_dare_ ** _touch her!_ ” I hissed as I stepped forward, my tone venomous enough to kill a small animal. I pulled my pin sword from its sheath as I approached; It wasn't much, and it wouldn't really hurt a human, but it still provided me with a small sense of safety. In a matter of seconds I had rushed from the inside of the wall to between Rose and the humans, who all now looked at _me_ with equally as shocked expressions.

I wanted to look over my shoulder, to give her a look that said 'I'm sorry, things will be okay', but I didn't dare take my eyes off of the two huge predators in front of me.

"Woah," Mike spoke first, his voice drenched in disbelief. "You're seeing this too, right?" He asked, turning to the other behind him.

Roger however, seemed to have a different train of thought coursing through his brain. With nothing but a silent nod in response to his boyfriend's question, he slowly inched closer. 

I tensed up, and my limbs betrayed my bravery as I started to shake. " _Get back,_ " I ordered as I held up my pin, never having thought that I'd have the courage to talk to a _human_ like that.

But, somehow, it worked. Well, sort of. On command Roger had stopped in his tracks, about two feet closer than he was before. The tension sat heavy in the air and everybody seemed to be at a loss for words, until the shorter human broke the silence. 

"Um.. hi." He started awkwardly. "We're sorry to scare you, you were just absolutely the last thing we were expecting to find." 

Mike's brows furrowed, as the realization suddenly clicked into place. "Wait, so _she's_ the one that's been setting off the traps?" 

I smiled triumphantly. "Yup. Trying to keep my little sister safe... but you two are making that an _extremely difficult task_." I gestured to the glue trap, and Rose's small, trembling form stuck to it.

"Yikes.." Roger replied, bringing his hand up to hang on his neck, just now realizing the danger that he had put them both in with the wooden traps. Yikes indeed. "We didn't mean for that, we didn't know--" 

"Of course we didn't know!" Mike interrupted, his voice loud enough to make me flinch. "How in the hell were we supposed to know that there's _little people living in our walls_?!" 

"Well, you're not _supposed_ to know." I retorted, sending a glare up at the dark-haired giant. "So if you don't mind, I'll be taking my sister back and you'll never see us again." 

Knowing that Mike was probably about to open his mouth and say something snarky, Roger butted in.

"Of course we don't mind," He blurted, not missing the stare he received from his partner. "But you might need some help getting her out of there…. we bought the extra sticky stuff..." He turned away a little, ashamed to say the words aloud.

"No," I protested, absolutely not okay with the idea of their giant hands pulling on my little sister. Especially Mike's. "I can do it."

But, after taking a long look at how _really_ stuck she was, I doubted that I'd be able to do it. She must have been running when she stepped on it, the momentum throwing her forward. She was curled in on her side, and I tried not to think about how long she's been there for already. The glue stuck to her hands, her clothes, her hair, and practically everything exposed on the right side of her body. 

Hesitantly I crouched down and touched the sticky white surface, to test the strength of it. I immediately had to use my other hand to pull my now-stuck one free, quickly realizing that touching it was a bad idea.

There was virtually no way I would be able to get her out of there without getting stuck myself. I sighed in frustration, trying not to cry at the fearful look Rose was giving me. We both knew that I couldn't do it alone. I turned back around to the humans, who were watching me the whole time. Roger broke the silence.

"Let us help..?" He offered again, not wanting to watch me struggle any more.

I nervously glanced between the two of them, before shaking my head. There had to be another way, I wouldn't let them hurt her-- 

"Please?" He continued, trying to sweeten the bitter deal. I think he understood my wariness. "I promise I'll be very, very careful." 

At that, I paused. That time he said _I_ and not _we_. Did that mean that only he would be the one to help? The idea still didn't sit right with me, but it was better than them _both_ doing it. I sighed, and turned back to Rose.

"Hey Rosie," I whispered as I crouched beside her as close as I could get. "I can't get you out of there alone.. I'm gonna need their help." 

My sister vehemently shook her head, silently begging me not to go along with it. This close, I could see how tear-stained her dirty cheeks were. The sight made my chest tighten. 

"Please Rosie," I pleaded. "He won't hurt you. I won't let him. I _promise_." 

I felt more than a little bad saying this, as I wasn't entirely sure I believed it either. I was always the one to tell her to never get caught by a human, never get found, never talk to them or interact with them for any reason lest something bad happens. Yet here I was, asking her to put her trust into one. I bit my tongue, hoping she would understand.

After a few more agonizing seconds of silence, I saw her nod ever so slightly. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding, and gave her the most reassuring smile that I could muster up. 

"Okay, just stay strong, you got this." I comforted her, giving a thumbs up. Reluctantly, I turned back towards Roger.

"You can help…" I finally admitted, although I hated it. "But you have to do it here. I'm not letting you take her." 

Mike quirked an eyebrow, wanting to mention that she physically couldn't stop them from doing that if she wanted, but for once he stayed silent. The little girl curled up in the trap unnerved him more than he cared to admit, and he didn't want to make things worse by running his mouth. So instead he sat back on his heels, letting Roger take the wheel. He was always much better in these 'helping' situations, anyway.

"Of course," Roger agreed to my terms with a few quick nods before turning to his boyfriend. "Mike, can you go grab the stuff? To get her out. I think there's canola oil above the stove." 

Wordlessly Mike stood up to go grab the oil, and I craned my neck head back as far as it went just to see his face. He _towered_ over me, which was something I was used to, but it was a reassuring sight to see him leaving. I don't know why he makes me so nervous.

"Oh, right," Roger said to himself, before standing up abruptly as well. The sudden movement made me flinch back again, but it didn't go unnoticed.

"Crap, sorry," He apologized, wearing a sympathetic expression. "I just remembered the other things I'll need, too. I'll be right back." 

Within a matter of seconds, I was left alone with my sister on the floor. It wasn't for long though, as they both reappeared in the room at roughly the same time. Mike had a huge bottle of yellow oil in his hands, and Roger was wearing gloves and carrying a dozen Q-tips. I held my ground as they grew closer, but couldn't tell if my shaking was from my fear or just from the floor rumbling beneath their steps. I tried to tell myself that it was the latter. 

I looked back at Rose as the two humans got everything situated, impressed by her bravery. I would have to lay up on the chores at home and give her extra treats after her display of courage in this situation. It must be traumatizing. 

"Okay," Roger breathed out. "Everything's ready. Can I start?" 

I was baffled that he was asking for _permission_ , but grateful for it nonetheless. With a quick glance towards Rose I nodded, wanting to get her out of there as fast as possible. 

"Great," He smiled softly at me, before turning his attention down to Rose. "I'll try to do as little touching as possible, but you gotta lift when I tell you to, okay?" He asked gently.

Rose looked at me after he spoke, likely for confirmation that she was allowed to answer him. I gave her a small nod, and she in turn gave that nod back to Roger. With everybody on board, they got to work.

It took awhile for the oil to counteract the adhesive, but eventually it gave way. Rose tugged at her oil-slicked limbs whenever Roger instructed her to, and before long they had her top half entirely unstuck.

Another five minutes of concentrated silence later, she was completely free. The glue trap was promptly disposed of and I took my chance to hug my little sister as hard as I ever have before, not caring that I was getting oil all over myself too. 

"You were so brave," I whispered into her ear as she held me close. "I'm so proud of you." 

Both of us turned towards the wall and the entrance leading to our home, but I stopped just before we reached the curtains. 

"....Thank you." I said after a moment, turning around to face the two humans once more. That scenario could have played out a hell of a lot worse than it did, and I was eternally grateful for their gentleness with her. Maybe they weren't so bad, after all.

"You're welcome," Roger answered honestly, Mike giving a nod in agreement. "And again, we're sorry about the traps. I promise you'll never see another one of them again."

At that, I smiled big. "We better not!" I joked, letting out a small shaky laugh. 

Things were okay now, I told myself. The humans had let us go, destroyed all of the traps, and most importantly, Rosie was safe.


End file.
